Michael Runyan, 24, died July 21 in Balad, Iraq, from wounds from a roadside bomb, according to a news release from the Defense Department.

Runyan earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Xavier while serving as an ROTC cadet, the university said in a statement. He was a member of the Xavier ROTC’s intercollegiate competitive team and a member of the honors society.

“It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of 2008 Xavier University graduate First Lieutenant Michael Runyan in Iraq,” the statement said. “Every young man and woman who attends Xavier University contributes in no small measure to the community we create together at Xavier. The loss of any one of them wounds us all. Michael’s death also touches our hearts as he died courageously serving our country.”

Runyan arrived in Iraq for his first deployment in early July. He was serving as a platoon leader with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, when he was killed, according to the Defense Department.

Runyan; his brother, Alex, 26; and his sister, Lesley, 28, were raised in Ashland. His family moved to Newark shortly after Michael graduated from Ashland High School in 2004.

The Runyan family was well-known in Ashland. His father, Jeffrey, was a former Ashland County Common Pleas Court judge, and his mother was a teacher in Ashland for many years.

In high school, Michael Runyan swam on the swim team, played tennis and was captain of the golf team his senior year.

He qualified for the state golf tournament during his senior year, said his former coach, Pam Leonard.

“He was the sweetest kid and the toughest kid at the same time,” Leonard said. “He was so special.”

Runyan was inspired when his brother Alex joined the Marines, Leonard said.

“He really took on the attitude that he wanted to serve in the military,” she said. “He wanted to be an [Army] Ranger, and that¹s what he did.”

Runyan joined the Army after graduating from Xavier. As a platoon leader in Iraq, he was in charge of a unit of more than 30 soldiers. His unit was on a convoy mission in Muqdadiyah when they were attacked. The others in the unit were not hurt.

“He was a super guy,” Wilson said. “This is really saddening.”

“He is going to be missed by a lot of people,” said Rick Boyer, who was Runyan’s pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland for 11 years. “He was a great guy.”

Boyer, who now is a pastor in Southampton, N.Y., said Runyan always was respectful and loved his family.

“He had a high degree of integrity,” he said. “He was the kind of guy you enjoyed being around.”

Runyan was very proud of being in the Army, Boyer said.

“I do know he was [in Iraq] because he wanted to be there,” he said. “He was serving his country, and he did that with honor.”